Sunday, May 31, 2009

I have really neglected a lot of blogs this week. I had over 1000 unread new items in my reader. It couldn't tell me how many but I think it was over 1100.

I am sorry I haven't been to as many blogs. Life seems busy but I don't really know what has made it that way. I think it is just general weariness from the cold (which fortunately I am starting to get over) and keeping up with all my housework.

I will catch up with everyone's blog this week. I think tonight though I have to just mark all as read so that I can start fresh tomorrow morning.

Have a great Sunday and don't forget to sing Happy Birthday to the church today. It was born on Pentecost Sunday.

Saturday, May 30, 2009

For the last couple of days I have woken up with an ear ache. I have been feeling really cold and my energy levels have been really low. Hopefully I will shake this soon.

---2---

scrabble.

I have been playing scrabble with a friend on facebook. In the last game I played, I was able to use all 7 letters twice. When you use all 7 letters, there is a bonus of 50 points. Even with these bonus points, I only just won the game. If I hadn't have come up with these words, I would have been seriously creamed.

---3---

Pumpkin Soup.

Today Tom is making pumpkin soup for us. One of my favourite things to do in winter is sit by a warm fire with a cup of warm soup in a mug.

---4---

First Communion.

It is two weeks till Tom makes his first communion. His God parents and 4 of their children will be staying with us for the weekend. My mother and Steve's mother will come down too. I have started planning our menu and will be preparing food to freeze this week and next week. I was going to do most of it today but really need to shake this cold before I start such a big task.

---5---

Home schooling.

Last Wednesday we did our morning subjects (Religion, Maths, Spelling, Reading) and then headed over to Boleroo to see Bill and Linda.We had a fun afternoon catching up. It is good to spend time with other home schooling families.

---6---

Diabetes

We saw the boys Endocrinologist on the Friday before yesterday. Tom had a lot of changes made to his pump since his bsl have been a bit high. We seem to be on the right track to getting him in range.

Christopher is going really well on insulin. We did have to cut back a half a unit of insulin because he was having a few lows. I am seeing a few higher numbers in the evenings but none so high that we are concerned. He seems to be a changed boy since starting the insulin and I am glad we did it.

---7---

Slow cooker.

I bought a new slow cooker a couple of weeks ago. We have been doing lots of casseroles and soups in it. I have got dishes out of the freezer and left them in the fridge for 24 hours then move them to the slow cooker. Usually I have the slow cooker on low and heat the meal for 4-5 hours. It fills the house with lots of delicious smells.

Friday, May 29, 2009

A blonde, a red head and a brunette were competing in the English Channel Breast Stroke Competition.

The redhead won and the brunette came in second. However, there was no sign of the final contestant. Hours and hours went by causing grave concern and worry. Just as everyone was losing hope, the blonde finally arrived.

The crowd was extremely happy and relieved to see her. They embraced the young girl as she came ashore. After all of the excitement died down, she leaned over to the judge and whispered, "I hate to be a bad loser, but I think those other girls used their arms."

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

I have been thinking about posting about this since I did My post on ESCR because the following comment was left:

would you also have a problem giving me the right to die? I have suffered from MS since I was a teen....I have gotten worse where I do think some days it would be better than living like this. Please don't take that right away from people, I wouldn't wish this on anyone, that is why I worry X-tra about my husband's diabetes, I'm sure the stress involved from taking care of me isn't helping him...

Life is a gift that we have been given. To end a life because we are suffering is wrong on so many levels.

Every single person on this earth has suffering to cope with. For some, suffering is minimal and for others, suffering can seem endless. I think it is important that we recognise the suffering in our life, but I think it is very unwise to let it define who we are and dictate our actions. To take a life because we are suffering from an illness is to let the illness dictate who we are.

The bill in Tasmania is titled the death with dignity. This is just a joke. Is it really dignified to take your life or let someone take it for you? Would a teenager that commits suicide have a dignified death? What exactly is dignified about letting a disease or suffering dictate your actions? It doesn't seem dignified to me.

We have recently seen ESCR funded with Federal funds. I think this is a natural progression from legalized abortion. Abortion is so accepted in our society that people don't recognise the embryo as human life or as deserving of the same rights as any other person.

At the moment, the bill before Parliament is for terminal patients only but if it is passed, we will see a natural progression (just like we have seen with abortion and ESCR) of life being denied for others and it will be more than terminal patients that will have their life ended.

As the mother of two children with chronic illness, this just frightens me. I know that at some stage their life may been seen as something less or undeserving of treatment because of their condition. We need to speak up for all groups and say that no group should be denied their basic rights. If euthanasia is legalized, I believe many people will be denied their basic right to life.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

1. I can see a light at the end of the washing tunnel. I will always have washing but I won't be doing 6 loads each day for a while after this weekend.

2. I have completed all the paper work for Christopher to get a membership with diabetes SA and all the paper work for Centrelink. Since Christopher is under 10, I am eligible for a carer's allowance for his diabetes care. This should help us nicely.

3. This week has been full of doctors appointments and meetings with Christopher's teachers for kindy but still we have managed to get all the home school work done that we needed to.

This week I haven't been able to get as much time on computer as I have in the past. Last week, Steve's monitor got some lines down the screen. Since the monitor is still under warranty he has taken it in to be fixed. It is gone for two weeks and I have to share my computer with everyone. I didn't realize how much I took for granted having a second computer.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Blogging has been a wonderful way for me to meet many other people. Thanks to everyone who has followed along and left comments. I am sure without you all, blogging wouldn't be nearly as fulfilling as it has been.

Monday, May 18, 2009

"Those who speak out against stem cell research may be rooted in admirable conviction about the sacredness of life, but so are the parents of a child with juvenile diabetes who are convinced that their son's or daughter's hardships can be relieved."

You are wrong President Obama. The sacredness of life cannot be compared to a cure.

Two of my children suffer from type one diabetes and they both lead healthy happy lives. Sure we have tough days and sure there are issues but never ever ever should a life be taken so that we can live without hardship.

An embryo is just as sacred and has the same rights as any living person. No life should be sacrificed so that we can find a cure.

I really don't believe a cure will be found by embryonic stem cells anyway.

Editing to add other parents of type one diabetics who are against embryonic stem cell research:

Saturday, May 16, 2009

The other questions, I will ask the children tomorrow and write their answers in another post.

---1---

Daniel.

Daniel's personality is very much like the eldest child. He is reliable, independent and a leader.

Daniel plays guitar. I think it was a natural choice for him since Steve plays guitar too. He has played for about 6 years I think.

When we were choosing names for our first child, I was pretty sure it was a boy. I really liked the name Daniel and Steve did too. His middle name is John and that was simply a name from both sides of our family.

Daniel would be pretty happy I think if we were to announce another pregnancy.

---2---

Sam.

Sam has a happy go lucky personality. I certainly wouldn't describe him as trouble. He is one of my lazy children though that likes to rely on others doing the job for him.

He plays the drums. He started playing the drums nearly 2 years ago. He plays the drums because he likes the noise.

Choosing Sams name has a bit of a story. When I was pregnant with him, Steve liked the name Thomas and I liked the name Sam. We argued for most of the pregnancy.

Finally the day came that I was in labour and we still hadn't agreed on which name to have for him. I said to Steve, I really really want to call this baby Sam if it is a boy. Steve's reaction was to say, look, lets just wait and see what it is first and then we can decide.

When Sam was born, the ob asked us, so what's his name and Steve said straight away, I think it will be Sam. I was pretty happy. I think he said that because I was the one in labour.

If we were to announce another baby, Sam would be neutral. He wouldn't be over the moon with excitement about it or unhappy about it.

---3---

Madeline.

Madeline is the eldest girl and likes to be bossy. Her personality is very strong and she always lets us know her mind. She also needs to be constantly watched when doing chores because she will find all kinds of shortcuts.

She doesn't play any musical instruments yet, but we do have a clarinet for her to learn. This wasn't an instrument that she chose, it was given to us and she said yes, she would like to learn it.

We chose Madeline's name when I was pregnant with Sam. I remember being at friends house one night when I was pregnant with him and someone there suggested Madeline for a girl. Steve said he liked it and I was a bit surprised because it was a name I liked too and every other girls name I had chosen, Steve had hated. We obviously didn't need it for Sam, but we kept it for our next baby.

If we were to announce another baby, I don't think Madeline would be too excited. She would get excited as it got closer to the baby arriving I think.

---4---

Brigette.

Personality wise, Brigette, gets on well with every sibling. She is very easy going and everyone gets along with her, both in our family and with outsiders. She is the middle child and I think she has the right personality for this. Like Daniel, she is reliable. She certainly doesn't suffer from middle child syndrome.

Last Christmas, she asked Steve's parents if she could have their keyboard because she wanted to learn piano. We really don't have the money for a piano. She has read some books and is teaching herself. Maybe when she starts high school, we will get her some professional lessons.

Brigette's name was chosen because I liked it too. I remember sitting in hospital writing it out lots of different ways. I wrote, Briget, Brigette, Bridgette, and liked Brigette the best.

Brigette would love a younger sibling. She asks me regularly if we are having another baby and before I have a chance to answer, she says, remember mum, it is a sin to lie.

---5---

Tom.

Tom is similar in personality to Sam. He is happy go lucky. I think though, he has been forced to be more mature than other children with dealing with diabetes and this has had an affect in the opposite as well. Our other children didn't seem as rebellious as Tom gets sometimes

Tom doesn't play any musical instruments. He hasn't shown any interests in learning any so far.

His name was chosen by Steve when I was pregnant with Sam. I decided since he let me use my boys name, that he should be able to use his boys name.

Tom would be excited if we were to announce another pregnancy. He would be very impatient for the time to go quickly.

---6---

Amelia.

Amelia has a very forceful personality. She isn't intimidated by anything or anyone. She will tell everyone exactly what she thinks and how she feels. She is also very sensitive and cries much more easily than any of our other children.

Amelia doesn't play any musical instrument but I think she would like to. I will have to ask her what instrument she is interested in.

Amelia's name was chosen from a list that I gave Steve. Steve was sick of choosing names by the time we got to baby number 6. I sat him down one day just a couple of weeks before she was due, and asked him to choose a boys name and a girls name from the list.

On the list I had actually written Emelia. Steve looked at it and said, isn't it suppose to start with an A. I said calling her Emelia or Amelia made no difference to me. Steve preferred Amelia to Emelia so that was what we went with.

Every night at family prayer Amelia prays Please God, I hope mum will have another baby. This has been her prayer since last July. I wonder if it will be answered one day. I think if it is, she would be the most excited of them all.

---7---

Christopher.

Christopher is very easy going and placid. He also gets on well with all the other children but can manipulate them all very well. He knows their weakness to give into him. He is our cuddliest child so far. He really likes to be on someone lap, cuddling. He always starts out in his own bed each night but comes in to us around dawn.

He doesn't play any musical instruments yet and hasn't shown any interest in them either.

For most of the pregnancy, Christopher was going to be David if he was a boy and Celeste if he was a girl. I ended up changing my mind when I got to 6 days late. I thought I need to change something so instead of David and Celeste, I changed to Christopher and Elizabeth.

I really don't know how he will react to baby news. I think he would go woo hoo or something like that but not really understand.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

1. Shopping bags: The shopping bags have three different fabrics. I have cut out the first two fabrics for 7 bags.

2. I filled in and sent off an application for a medic alert bracelet for Christopher. Tomorrow I will lodge the forms with diabetes SA so that he can get all his supplies at a reduced price. I also started and did as much as I could to apply to Centrelink for Carer's allowance for him.

Monday, May 11, 2009

From this list, I still haven't done the shopping bags but I have traced the pattern and chosen the fabric for it.

Prep for Tom's first Communion is going well.

I am praying most mornings with Steve as long as I get into bed early enough. I think I only missed Thursday and Friday last week.

I did a journal entry too.

I have decided to change 5mart Martha Monday around a bit. I cannot always think of things to do for each category so I am just going to set goals without being in any category.

I am also going to start reporting in the small successes posts on Thursdays about what I have done.

This week my goals are:

Cut out some good pants for Tom and cut out the shopping bags. (to wear to church)

Do our oamc this weekend.

Get all of Christopher's paper work lodged with Diabetes Australia and Centrelink. Apply for a medic alert bracelet for him.

For home school I want to do a few craft activities with the children and go to the library. We have had some books from there which are really overdue. I want to return them and start having weekly lessons there on how to use the library.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

To all the mothers that come here today, may your day be blessed and I hope your children do something special for you all today.

Here is a list of questions asked of children about mothers.

Why did God make mothers?1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.2. Mostly to clean the house.3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.

How did God make mothers?1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.3. God made my Mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts.

What ingredients are mothers made of ?1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.

Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom?1. We're related.2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's moms like me.

What kind of little girl was your mom?1. My Mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff.2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.3. They say she used to be nice.

What did mom need to know about dad before she married him?1. His last name.2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer?3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?

Why did your mom marry your dad?1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my Mom eats a lot.2. She got too old to do anything else with him.3. My grandma says that Mom didn't have her thinking cap on.

Who's the boss at your house?1. Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dad's such a goof ball.2. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.3. I guess Mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.

What's the difference between moms & dads?1. Moms work at work and work at home and dads just go to work at work.2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.3. Dads are taller & stronger, but moms have all the real power 'cause that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friend's.4. Mom's have magic, they make you feel better without medicine.

What does your mom do in her spare time?1. Mothers don't do spare time.2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.

What would it take to make your mom perfect?1. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.2. Diet. You know, her hair. I'd diet, maybe blue.

If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be?1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.2. I'd make my mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it and not me.3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of her head.

Saturday, May 09, 2009

On the left at the top is a link to a new book called Faith Quilt. This book is a collection of blog posts from various Bloggers (including me) put together by Suzy from Sailing by Starlight blog.

As stated under the link, the book is to raise money for two orphanages. One is in India and the other one is in Bolivia. I am sure the book will be a great treasure for those that buy it. Please click on the link in the sidebar to go directly to blurb and purchase a copy of Faith Quilt.

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2. The other link is from American Life League.

On June 6th, there will be a protest against the pill and what it does to women. Many women take the pill these day without even realizing how dangerous it is and the damage it can do to a women. Click on the link to read about the Pill and what it does to women. Spread the word also to let other women know about the protest.

Thursday Christopher started insulin shots. So far so good. He is staying within a good bsl range most of the day. He has gone a little bit high around afternoon tea time but not so high that we need to be concerned. I think the dose of insulin he is on is just right. I was worried that he would have low sugars because his sugars were coming down each morning on their own before insulin but the insulin seems to have evened him out.

---2---Tom.

Yesterday at 4.45 Tom woke up and came in our bedroom. His pump site had come out and his sugars were up at 25.4 (450). Since we are using his insulin pen for Christopher (until we get his in the post) I decided to do a new site and give him insulin through that. The problem with waking with high numbers is Tom stays high most of the day. We got him around 13.5 (243) for most of the day and this morning his sugar is 7.4 (133)

---3---Birthday fun.

Since it was Amelia's birthday yesterday and we had the drama of changing Tom's pump, Tom, Amelia and Christopher all woke at 4.45. While I was changing the pump, I was trying to get Christopher and Amelia back to bed but Amelia had seen her presents on the lounge and there was no convincing her that 4.45 was too early. I thought we would have three very tired children in the afternoon but they all lasted the distance without any tears. Today though they have slept in. It is now 8.30 and the only one awake is Christopher and I suspect they will both sleep in a bit later this morning.

---4---Car repair.

This week our car that was damaged while being serviced is being fixed. We will be without the second car for the week while it is being done but should be able to manage just fine. Steve is working most of the week at the school around the corner from us so it is a good week to have it done.

---5---Family Tea.

Amelia asked during the week if we could go to Barnacle Bills for tea for her birthday. If our children don't have a party, we go out for tea as a family. I said sure. The other children all said to her, oh why don't you choose Hungry Jacks? We don't like Barnacle Bills. Daniel also said, I probably talked her into choosing it since I like seafood so much but I didn't. She has caved to the pressure from her siblings and decided that it is better to go to Hungry Jacks since they have a playground there.

---6---

Winter Garden.

Steve has started planting our winter garden. He has beans, peas, broccoli, cauliflower and onions.

He also has some seedlings coming up. We have leeks, carrots, strawberries, basal and chives.

I am so looking forward to making lots of winter soups with all the different vegetables.

---7---

Saturday Mornings.

I remember when our older 4 were below 10, they use to be up bright and early on a Saturday morning. The thought of sleeping in on a weekend, was just stupid in their minds.

Now that they are all teenagers, it is hard to get them out of bed. Often the younger three are running around for a couple of hours before we sight the older 4 unless they have something on. This morning Daniel was up early because he is playing football in Port Pirie but if he wasn't, we wouldn't have seen him before 10 am. Sam, Madeline and Brigette are still in bed. I will be surprised if they are up in the next hour.

Thursday, May 07, 2009

1. Every night this week, we have started the dishes before tea and then the kitchen has been finished by 7.30 each night.

2. Preparation for Tom's first communion is going well. We read the weight of a Mass and have spoken about Jesus being truly present in the Eucharist.

3. Day one of insulin for Christopher has gone pretty smoothly. Fortunately we haven't had any hypo's and his sugar has stayed in range for the day except for just before afternoon tea and just before bed. I hope it continues to be so manageable.

Treating diabetes with an insulin pump is one of the bests ways to get good control of blood sugar levels.

When a diabetic is on mdi's, they need to eat a certain amount of carbs for each meal and at the same time. With a pump, if the person isn't hungry, they don't need to eat. Also a pump works in a similar way to a pancreas in a non diabetic person.

For a person to be on an insulin pump, a basal rate is worked out for the diabetic to get over 24 hours. This is in place of the background insulin a person on mdi's has.

Then a bolus rate is worked out for each time the person eats. The pump will have a ratio of how much insulin is needed for each gram of carb. When the diabetic person eats they will enter into the pump, how many carbs they are eating and the pump will deliver a bolus of insulin.

As well as working out the carb ratio, the pump will have a correction rate for high blood sugars so when the diabetic has a high sugar, they can enter into the pump their reading and the pump will deliver a bolus to bring the sugar level back to it's target.

A pump site needs to be changed every 3 to 4 days. Here is a video of someone changing a mini med pump. Tom uses the mini med 520.

Christopher will be starting insulin shots tomorrow morning. His sugar level has been sitting between 6 and 12 (104 and 208) which isn't too bad but high enough that we can start some insulin.

He will have 4 units of protophane (NPH) each morning and for now and we will see how that affects his blood sugar levels.

The good thing about catching it so early is that he will probably have a long honeymoon period. A honeymoon period is where the pancreas still produces some insulin but the not enough on its own. This means that Christopher will need bsl tests before each meal and about two hours after to make sure the insulin isn't making him low.

He has adjusted to the bsl tests really well and even asks sometimes if we can check him when I tell Tom he needs to check.

May is a special month to honour Mary for Catholics. JMJ from Totus Tuus Family blog is hosting something about Mary during the month of May. I thought I would post one of my favourite pictures of Mary with the child Jesus.

You are truly devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary! You most likely pray the rosary daily and quite possibly have consecrated yourself to Mary. Did you know that St Alphonsus Liguori said that devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary is a sign of predestination?

Monday, May 04, 2009

I didn't post my 5 last week because we had the news about Christopher. I felt a bit down about it and didn't really want to think about what I had and hadn't done.

Looking back though, I didn't do the shopping bags yet. I have cleaned a bit more out of the storeroom and I finished of the curriculum plan for this term. I haven't bought any soft drink for the fortnight except when Steve and I went out for tea. My prayer journal is still very neglected.

So my plan for this week:

Sew the shopping bags. Today was day one of no plastic bags. I need to make some or else I will be forced into buying them when we do our next main shop.

Homeschool and household: Continue Tom's preparation for First Communion. Tom asked our parish priest what his favourite cake was and he said a good old fruit cake so Tom and Amelia are both very keen to make one for him.

Health: Eating well and drinking water. I am actually starting to like drinking water.

Sunday, May 03, 2009

Saturday, May 02, 2009

As a senior citizen was driving down the freeway, his cell phone rang.Answering, he heard his wife's voice urgently warning him, 'Ernie, I justheard on the news that there's a car going the wrong way on Interstate 77.Please be careful!'

Christopher is now getting use to having his bsl checked each morning and night. He has had a couple of higher sugars but nothing high enough yet to start some insulin. We are noticing he is more irritable and hyperactive at times which was one of the things I noticed with Tom just before he was diagnosed. I am glad we know it is coming and that we can watch his bsl.

Yesterday we made anzac biscuits. These are a very sweet biscuit. This is the recipe we used but we substituted the white sugar with brown sugar. That is the way I remember baking them growing up.

---4---

Our weekend.

It is going to be a busy one. I want to do a bit of sewing, catch up on the washing, cook some pumpkin bread and a few more biscuits. Steve is hoping to close in the door from outside to our new bathroom and do some work in the vegetable garden.

---5---

Kakuro.

Sudoku has been one of my favourite games to play for a while now. Recently my mother got a heap of computer games for the children and among them was a game called kakuro. I didn't look at it at first but when I put the sudoku disk in, it had a trial of kakuro so I decided to have a look. Kakuro is similar to sudoku but a little bit easier I think.

Christopher and Amelia were talking.Amelia: I really want mum to have a baby. No, two babies.Christopher: No. I am the baby.Amelia: If mum has a girl, you will be the baby boy still.Christopher: I want mum to have a baby girl.Amelia: two baby girls.

---7---

Winter.

I don't really like winter but I love curling up by the fire with a cup of soup. At the moment my favourite flavour is chicken and corn.Another good thing about winter is electric blankets. I haven't put mine on yet but it will be going on soon.

Friday, May 01, 2009

The video I posted in My first post on diabetes pointed out that in type one diabetes the person doesn't produce any insulin where as in type two diabetes they produce insulin but the insulin is unable to open the cell to let the glucose in.

Because a type one person doesn't have any islets producing insulin, they cannot reverse their condition. A type two person can though because their body is still producing insulin but it isn't using it properly.

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Autoimmune.

Type one diabetes is an autoimmune disease. This simply means that the body thinks the islets that produce insulin are something foreign and it produces antibodies to kill them off. Once the islets are killed off, there is no more insulin produced.

Please pray for a cure for Type One Diabetes

Our sons Tom and Christopher and our daughter Amelia are type one diabetics. We pray everyday for a cure. We do not want one by illicit means though so don't support any organisation that contributes to Embryonic Stem Cell Research. Click on the photo of Tom and Christopher to read about why I am against using Embryonic Stem cells for a cure.

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Tom's and Christopher's insulin pump

New book: Faith Quilt.

All proceeds from sales of "FAITH QUILT" going to "Casa de Amor Children's Homes in Bolivia" and "Sarah's Covenant Homes in India" Two truly extraordinary organisations that take in the most needy children and give them a place of love and security to call home.

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clink on the picture of Denise Faustman to see what work she is doing to find a cure for type one diabetes